Lately you can find any number of web sites dedicated to helping you “reduce your carbon footprint.” There are even “carbon footprint calculators” that measure exactly how much carbon you are spilling into the atmosphere and contributing to our planet’s overheating. This is all well and good, but in my opinion all this focus on footprints and handprints and carbon emissions is a little too vague for me to get excited about. I want to do what is right, but I can’t really see how my little bit of carbon is making that big of a difference. Kind of like one’s reasoning when you look outside at two foot of snow and ice and evaluate whether doing your civic duty and going to the polls is really worth it. I mean will my measly little vote really make a difference? The answer to that should be obvious, but I believe a more motivational idea of looking at this is in terms of lifestyle. I like the idea of an “organic lifestyle.” To me an organic lifestyle is sustainable. It is sustainable in that it promotes ecological endurance, both in terms of increasing my own personal health as well as the health of the planet. And that gets me excited. What is an “organic lifestyle?” It is about adopting new healthy habits. And no you don’t have to change your hairstlye to “dreadlocks,” wear only Birkenstocks, become a strict vegetarian and donate to Greenpeace. I believe many people think being into the whole “green thing” is a capitalistic sell-out. That you can’t enjoy making green (money that is) and also being green. For many folks doing so really requires a paradigm shift that eliminates all those “tree hugger” metaphors that you have accumulated over your years of experience in the “real world.” Being into an organic and sustainable lifestyle really is cool and, moreover, it is the trend that society is going in. Just open your eyes and look around. Even Fox News is into it (though they would never admit it). To try to buck this trend is to go the way of disco dancing and polyester suits. Sooner or later you’re going to get left behind. So I suggest that learning about ways you can adopt a more organic lifestlye, and even ways that you can profit from it, is a good idea. A productive byproduct of doing so may be a smaller “footprint” and even a smaller waist-size. If you’re savy enough, maybe even a fatter wallet.
Comments
becoming a vegetarian,
Hey Costaricaguy,
Thanks for the above, I call it going green In Northern Climates! And why are we starting to hear so much about it? The environmentally minded person has a compelling belief that they must do something to reduce the polluting effects that gas, oil and coal emissions have on the earth. The financially minded person is trying to reduce his energy bills as energy prices continue rising in a poor economic climate. Whether it be for environmental reasons or for financial reasons, green energy and using green power from solar and wind for home use is growing by the day.
Regards